Amazon Lays Off Again, This Time Hitting Robotics Division

Recent reports indicate that, according to Business Insider, Amazon cut jobs in its robotics division this week, marking the latest move in the company's ongoing cost-reduction initiative.

Scott Dresser, Amazon's Vice President of Robotics, stated in an internal email to employees that the adjustments are "difficult but necessary." Dresser emphasized that even as the company reorganizes and scales back certain projects, the robotics business remains a "strategic priority" for Amazon.

It remains unclear how many employees are affected by this round of layoffs. Since late 2022, Amazon has eliminated over 57,000 corporate positions, including multiple rounds of cuts in October and January.

Meanwhile, Amazon has also been cleaning up underperforming projects. After years of attempts, Amazon recently shut down its Fresh and Go grocery chain businesses.

An Amazon spokesperson disclosed that the number of robotics positions canceled this week is "relatively small." The company continues hiring and maintaining investments in strategic areas. "Amazon regularly evaluates its organizational structure to ensure teams can innovate and serve customers in the best way possible. Amazon does not make these decisions lightly and will provide affected employees with severance packages, healthcare benefits, and job placement support."

In January's larger-scale layoffs, Amazon cut 16,000 corporate positions. Following the layoffs, Beth Galetti, Head of Human Resources, stated that Amazon does not intend to establish a new rhythm of "large-scale layoffs every few months," though future layoffs cannot be ruled out.

As of year-end, Amazon had approximately 1.58 million employees globally, with the vast majority working in warehousing and logistics, and around 350,000 in corporate and technical roles.

After a massive hiring spree during the pandemic, Amazon has been gradually reducing its workforce. At that time, Amazon rapidly expanded headcount to meet surging demand for e-commerce and cloud services.

CEO Andy Jassy is pushing to reduce management layers and reshape Amazon's culture, hoping the company will operate more like "the world's largest startup." Jassy has set internal targets to flatten the organizational structure and launched an email address called "no bureaucracy" to collect employee suggestions on improving operational efficiency.

Even while conducting layoffs, Amazon is increasing capital expenditures. Amazon expects 2026 capital expenditures to reach $200 billion, with a major driver being massive investments in AI data centers.

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